CHICAGO — Wrigley Field had a special buzz for its final five games of 2025.

Playoff baseball will do that.

“The crowds and the energy was amazing,” Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said at his end-of-season press conference last week. “It was really nice to be able to play five home playoff games. Wish we could have played a lot more, but it was nice to play five home playoff games for these fans.”

Watch Jed Hoyer’s full end-of-season press conference only on the Marquee Sports Network app.

Those extra contests and full crowds, coupled with more attention because it was the first Cubs team to reach the playoffs in a full season since 2018, creates more excitement for the 2026 season and beyond.

Does that mean the team payroll will expand in an effort to ensure there are more home playoff games next year?

“As far as the budget stuff, I haven’t had those conversations yet,” Hoyer said. “I think we’ll sit down over the next two or three weeks and go through that.”

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Usually, those discussions involve team chairman Tom Ricketts. The focus in last week’s press conference was more on reflection, and while Hoyer and his front office might have had preliminary discussions about 2026, there was still an eye on 2025 when he spoke to the media.

The Cubs carried a payroll this season of around $228 million, according to outlets like Cot’s Contracts, Spotrac and Fangraphs. The exact number isn’t public for any team, so perfect rankings and figures aren’t available, but the Cubs ranked around ninth or 10th in MLB payroll this past season.

The number is also below the first luxury tax threshold of $241 million. In 2024, the Cubs went just over that number, having to pay a 20% tax on the amount they went over – in this case, about 20% of $1 or $2 million — again, depending on which outlet you use to calculate the overage. Cot’s had them at $239 million and Fangraphs at $238 million and the Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) threshold in 2024 was $237 million.

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The more times a team goes over the CBT line, the steeper the penalties become. If a team goes over two or more straight years they pay a 30% tax and the fee jumps up to 50% on all overages if a team is over the threshold for three consecutive seasons. If a team is over by $40 million or more, then their top draft pick is moved back 10 spots in the following draft.

Hoyer and the Cubs reset their penalties by keeping the payroll under $241 million, meaning if they go over in 2026, they’ll face the lowest penalties.

The Cubs’ projected salary before the offseason officially begins is currently under $200 million, meaning they have plenty of wiggle room under the CBT line of $244 million in 2026.

Of course, the biggest question, budget-wise, for the Cubs and Hoyer this offseason will be around outfielder Kyle Tucker, a free agent this winter. He’s expected to command a hefty contract and could earn the most expensive in franchise history if he’s brought back.

But the Cubs won’t be the only bidder, and they’ll have to find ways to pivot if Tucker ends up elsewhere.

“I’m confident that we’re gonna have enough money to field a good team,” Hoyer said. “I think that that’s the simplest thing I’ll say. But as far as details, I don’t know yet.”

Another payroll factor working for the Cubs could be the way they’ve signed players the last few seasons. They have just one player – Dansby Swanson – on a guaranteed deal beyond 2026.

“The way we’ve structuralized contracts, I think has been shorter, and I think that’s been by design,” Hoyer said. “We have the opportunity to use those dollars really wisely to continue to get better.

“So I don’t look at it as a cause for concern. I try to look at it as an opportunity that we have available dollars in the future that we haven’t committed yet, and we just need to continue to commit those dollars wisely as we do commit them.”

There is also the uncertainty surrounding the expiring collective bargaining agreement between owners and players after next season. That ambiguity could seriously change the landscape of the game and potentially play a role this winter in contract decisions, and not just the Cubs.

“The truth of the matter is, we don’t know what the future holds in that regard, and certainly those decisions are going to happen well above me, and those conversations will happen for a long time,” Hoyer said. “So I think you can pay attention to it. I think it’s something that you have to consider.

“But we don’t know what’s going to happen, and there’s real uncertainty there for us and for 29 other teams.”

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For now, Hoyer and the Cubs’ front office will continue to formulate ways to ensure the thrill of playoff baseball at Wrigley Field extends beyond the NL Division Series in 2026.

And the budget should become clearer to help accomplish that.

“I haven’t even had meetings about it yet, but I will,” Hoyer said. “And you guys probably will ask me that at the GM Meetings [next month] and I’ll probably have a better sense.”